Housing starts in Canada were largely flat month-over-month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 229 thousand units in August 2026, the lowest since March 2025 and below market forecasts of 240 thousand units. Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 11,224 units. Actual monthly housing starts were down 2% year-over-year in centres with populations of 10,000 or more, with a total of 17,691 units recorded in August 2026. Montréal’s six-month trend rose 6% month-to-month, driven by higher starts across all housing types. Vancouver also recorded a 6% increase, supported by stronger multi-unit starts. In Toronto, the trend was unchanged, as both single-detached and multi-unit starts remained flat. source: Canada Mortgage And Housing Corporation

Housing Starts in Canada decreased to 229 Thousand units in August from 229.40 Thousand units in July of 2026. Housing Starts in Canada averaged 194.66 Thousand units from 1977 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 321.28 Thousand units in March of 2021 and a record low of 90.70 Thousand units in August of 1982. This page provides the latest reported value for - Canada Housing Starts - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Canada Housing Starts - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on September of 2026.

Housing Starts in Canada decreased to 229 Thousand units in August from 229.40 Thousand units in July of 2026. Housing Starts in Canada is expected to be 210.00 Thousand units by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the Canada Housing Starts is projected to trend around 215.00 Thousand units in 2027 and 200.00 Thousand units in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-08-18 12:15 PM
Housing Starts
Jul 229.1K 240.8K 248K 240.0K
2026-09-16 12:15 PM
Housing Starts
Aug 229K 229.4K 240K 232.0K
2026-10-16 12:15 PM
Housing Starts
Sep 229K 210.0K


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Average House Prices 657400.00 657500.00 CAD Aug 2026
Building Permits 12190901.00 14885631.00 CAD Thousand Jul 2026
Building Permits MoM -17.30 18.30 percent Jul 2026
Home Ownership Rate 66.70 69.30 percent Dec 2023
Home Sales 37738.00 37980.00 units Aug 2026
New Housing Price Index MoM -0.10 -0.10 percent Aug 2026
New Housing Price Index YoY -2.30 -2.30 percent Jul 2026
Housing Index 120.40 120.50 points Aug 2026
Housing Starts 229.00 229.40 Thousand units Aug 2026
Price to Rent Ratio 128.81 122.80 points Jun 2026
Residential Property Prices -3.97 -4.80 Percent Jun 2026


Canada Housing Starts
In Canada, a housing start is defined as the beginning of construction work on the building where the dwelling unit will be located. This can be described in 2 ways: usually, the stage when the concrete has been poured for the whole of the footing around the structure; or an equivalent stage where a basement will not be part of the structure.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
229.00 229.40 321.28 90.70 1977 - 2026 Thousand units Monthly
Volume, SA

News Stream
Canada Housing Starts Remain Low
Housing starts in Canada were largely flat month-over-month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 229 thousand units in August 2026, the lowest since March 2025 and below market forecasts of 240 thousand units. Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 11,224 units. Actual monthly housing starts were down 2% year-over-year in centres with populations of 10,000 or more, with a total of 17,691 units recorded in August 2026. Montréal’s six-month trend rose 6% month-to-month, driven by higher starts across all housing types. Vancouver also recorded a 6% increase, supported by stronger multi-unit starts. In Toronto, the trend was unchanged, as both single-detached and multi-unit starts remained flat.
2026-09-16
Canada Housing Starts Miss Expectations in July
Canada’s housing starts fell 5% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 229,074 units, down from 240,773 in June and below market expectations of 248,000 units. The rural starts estimate stood at 11,274 units. Actual monthly housing starts declined 19% year-on-year in centres with a population of 10,000 or more, with 18,834 units recorded in July 2026. Vancouver starts fell 42%, driven by lower multi-unit and single-detached starts, while Toronto starts declined 10% on weaker multi-unit construction. Montréal posted a 3% increase, supported by higher multi-unit starts. Year-to-date housing starts totaled 131,851 units, down 4% from the same period in 2025. The six-month trend was virtually unchanged in July, falling 0.5% to 247,377 units.
2026-08-18
Canada Housing Starts Drop in June
Housing starts in Canada declined 6% from the previous month to a seasonally adjust annual rate of 239 thousand units in June 2026, compared to a downwardly revised 253 thousand units in May and falling short of markets expectations of 258 thousand units. The number of building permits fell 1.1% compared to the previous month, while units under construction in centers with a population above 50 thousand was flat, edging up 0.2% over the month to 375,469 units. Meanwhile, completed contructions totalled 18,298 units, up 8.4% compared to May. By region, Vancouver recorded the last decrease, by 35%, due to lower multi-unit and single-detached starts. In contrast, the largest increase was recorded in Toronto, up 25%, due to higher multi-unit starts, followed by Montreal (10%).
2026-07-16